Death Proof
by Felix Laforet
Summary: Ennis, Nice, Rachel, Chane and Jacuzzi are on their way to Ennis' wedding when Nice and Rachel suggest a detour. Everything works out until a dangerous man gets involved. (heavily inspired by Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof, contains a small portion of Romance)
1. Lua wants to die

**A/N:** I made sure the story isn't just a copy of the movie. However, if you're interested in watching the movie, then you do that before reading this story. I love Death Proof so much (well, the second part), so I don't want to be responsible for ruining it for you. Other than that, I'll admit that I occasionally took small liberties concerning the characters' personalities. Jacuzzi, for one, is low-key sarcastic in the second chapter. I still struggle to get the characters right and this is an Alternative Universe, so I thought that I might as well go for it. Now, without further ado, I hope you enjoy it.

I.

Morning was merely a few hours away and she was still alive. She had been dumped by every murderer in this area. What did a woman need to do around here to get herself killed? Her good looks and apparent loneliness didn't seem to work their magic today. Lua didn't want to return home, but it was no use if she couldn't find somebody doing her this tiny favor. To her annoyance, after fishing it out of her purse, she noticed her cellphone had no power left and her charger was nowhere to be found. Of course not, she had planned to die, so it didn't matter at the time.

Well, if it was a taxi she probably could use the bartender's phone. Lua took a peek at him. A tall man with bright hair and an Irish accent. Sudden shyness surfaced, but she swallowed it down as best as she could. The only thing that didn't make her nervous was the prospect of dying. Four times she tried to grab his attention, but her damn voice was, as always, a mere whisper which she tried to fix, but found herself unable to.

The handsome stranger who sat at the other end of the bar interfered. "John, the girl over there is talking to you."

Lua felt her cheeks grow hot. It was amazing that he had been able to hear her, but it was quite embarrassing at the same time. He talked as if he was helping out a little kid, but Lua rewarded him with a grateful smile nonetheless.

Finally the bartender focused his attention on her. "I'm sorry. What can I do for you?"

"My phone's not working, but I want to call a taxi. Would you be so kind and let me borrow yours? I – of course I'm willing to pay," she stuttered.

His smiling face turned immediately into a pitiful one. "I'm afraid I can't. We've got trouble with the damn phone since yesterday."

Just my luck, she thought bitterly. "Ah, but I'm sure you've got a cellphone..."

"I'll drive you home."

"Really? How kind of you."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Ladd...," the bartender started.

"Why?," the look on the man's, Ladd's, face was feral. "I didn't drink a drop of alcohol, so what worries you? You aren't suggesting that I can't be trusted. Now, there's no way that could be the case, right? I mean, that would be incredibly rude of you and you don't want to upset your crybaby bootlegger boss because you were rude to an upstanding guest."

A shiver ran down Lua's spine and from what she could tell it was the same for the bartender, however, his must have felt cold as ice. Ladd was dangerous and Lua welcomed the danger with open arms.

"Now return to your fucking work, asshole, I've got this."

Lua felt John's gaze on her. "That would be even worse than upsetting you, but I can't let you...Jacuzzi wouldn't...It's quite dangerous around here, just warning you, Miss."

"It's alright," Lua was sputtering. She was aware of the reputation this area had and she didn't mind. "Thank you for your concern and I hope you'll look out for others in the future, but there's no need to right now, I'm fine..." It was likely that she didn't come across as confident and so she tried her hardest to get her shaking body under control. It shook out of excitement, but the bartender might mistake it for fear. "Believe me when I say that..."

Ladd grinned. "I feel the same way. What's your name? I'm Ladd. I wish you could've heard it from me first, but John had to ruin it."

"L-Lua."

"Lua! What a beautiful name, how absolutely befitting of a beauty. Anyway, we're no longer strangers, so it's perfectly safe for you to get into my car. See, John? Now fuck off."

A sigh and a last glance, then he retreated.

Soon after they left and walked over to his car. Lua was taken aback for a moment when she saw what kind of car Ladd owned.

"It's used for stunts," Ladd explained and held the opened door for her.

"Oh, so you're a stuntman?" She was about to get into the car when she noticed its unusual interior. A proper seat was missing, there was no seat belt and a window pane divided the front seats from each other. "That doesn't look comfortable. Is it safe?"

"Don't worry, it's better than safe, it's death proof."

That was an odd way to put it, but again Lua couldn't care less. If something bad happened...that wouldn't be half bad. Dying in the company of a handsome guy like Ladd was a thing you only got the chance to do once in your life – for obvious reasons. Without further hesitation, she sat down and smiled at him as he closed the door. Ladd got inside mere seconds later and started the engine. The speed was almost murderous. Almost, not quite yet.

After awhile without having said anything, it was Ladd who broke the silence. "Remember when I said this car was death proof? That wasn't a lie. It's a hundred percent death proof, only to get the benefit of it, honey, you reeeaaally need to be sitting in my seat."

"I see," she simply replied, unaffected by the underlying threat. "I don't mind if you kill me here and now, Ladd."

Ladd laughed heartily. "You're quite amazing, aren't you? It's almost a shame, really. I understand. I'll make an exception for you."

He granted her unspoken wish to speed up more and soon Lua was pushed around uncontrollably, hitting her head, face and back. She groaned and looked at Ladd who was laughing like a maniac. She was uncertain whether or not Ladd realized how much she enjoyed this moment. She desired to ask him before her time was up, but she never got the chance to. She only managed to smile at him one last time, then her head smashed against the window as he hit the brakes out of nowhere.


	2. Jacuzzi discovers sarcasm

II.

Before her wedding at the end of the month Ennis, along with Chane and Rachel, had visited Nice and Jacuzzi in Chicago for a couple of days. In retrospective, it had been immense fun, but she had her doubts at first when Firo had suggested it. Leaving New York meant leaving the remnants of wedding preparations to Firo and that hadn't felt right – not because she thought he couldn't handle it. A wedding, even though they had agreed to keep it simple, was no small matter. Of course she knew he could count on their family, but she still had felt guilty. It had taken a lot to convince her to go and even more to banish the guilt. Now the five of them headed towards New York and had a long way ahead of them because they had agreed that taking the car was more fun than returning by plane.

"Listen guys, Rachel and I were thinking about taking a little detour," Nice started cautiously.

"Nice," Jacuzzi grinned. "You make it sound as if it's a surprise. I believe I'm not the only one who has expected a few detours, otherwise we could've booked a flight." Besides, Nice was the spontaneous and adventurous type, so he had prepared himself for something extraordinary. But then he froze. "Please tell me that it doesn't involve explosions."

"Aw, Jacuzzi, you know me so well! I'm going to blush."

"No, just no."

"Don't worry, nothing's going to explode."

"Oh good."

"Look, Jacuzzi, it'll be fun. You don't have to do a thing. You'll just sit back and enjoy the ride."

"Huh? I wonder about that. If you think it's fun, then it can't involve me relaxing in my seat. Wait, if explosions aren't planned...Don't tell me..."

Rachel interrupted them. "There's this car...We always dreamed about driving it and Nice won't do anything dangerous, I promise. She's the driver."

Jacuzzi crossed his arms. "So you're literally risking your neck, _great_ , makes _everything_ better."

"Trying something new?" Nice replied and sounded a bit surprised. "Sarcasm isn't for you, I tell you."

He shrugged.

"Don't be scared. Rachel's a pro," Nice smiled at said woman and cleared her throat audibly.

"What kind of car are we talking about?" Ennis tilted her head curiously when Rachel got a news paper out of her bag.

"Thanks for asking!" Rachel smiled, pointing at a picture. "It's a white 1970 Dodge Challenger. A guy in this area intends to sell it."

"Rachel and I spoke about it this morning and we agreed that it's a wonderful opportunity. We might never get another chance."

"That's expensive!" Ennis proclaimed when she spotted the price.

That was the signal for Jacuzzi to become active once more. "No, Nice. We can't afford another car and we've got a perfect one right underneath our...us."

"Oh, you silly boy. Nobody said we're going to buy it. We'll simply ask him if we can go for a test drive, then return it after we're done."

Jacuzzi heaved a sigh and looked over to Chane and Ennis. "Are you okay with this?"

"Come on, what could possibly go wrong? It's not even a hard stunt to pull off – as I was saying, Rachel's pretty much professional."

"Sure, as professional as an information gatherer can get before being able to do stunts. There's a whole lot that could go wrong."

"Again with the sarcasm...Seriously, where did you pick that up? Don't underestimate Rachel's skills – stuntmen have nothing on her."

"Nice praises me too much, however, believe me that what we've got in mind is nothing big, but fun enough for us to try it once," Rachel said, then looking into each of her friend's faces. "But it's okay to say no."

"Well, I give up – not that I could stop you anyway. Guess it could be worse. For example, explosives."

"That's the spirit. Optimism is what suits you, Jacuzzi." Nice was practically brimming with happiness and Jacuzzi felt his last doubts crumbling. Ennis and Chane were also fine with the plan.

Soon after they reached a rundown farm house.

"So, wow, this place's awfully far away from any kind of civilization," Jacuzzi mused. He was a little frightened by the eerie atmosphere that even the sun couldn't expel. It was hard to believe that somebody actually lived here and even harder to believe that whoever had decided to live here was a friendly, social person. Although the ladies were braver than him, even they remained in their seats, opting to inspect the area for now. None of them was eager to run straight into a trap. It wouldn't be surprising for a crazy maniac to lure people in to kill them in a gruesome manner. All of them recognized a typical horror movie setting when they had it right under their noses.

Nice was the one to break the silence. "Let's go inside and let them know we're here."

She, Jacuzzi noted, sounded nervous. "Are you sure about that?"

"Please, let's not start another discussion," Ennis said. "Somebody should stay inside the car, though, and the rest can check it out."

"Well, it's important that nobody is left on their own. How about Rachel and you stay here, Ennis?" after saying this, he turned to Chane. "Do you mind coming with us?"

She shook her head.

Great, all of them could take care of themselves – some to a higher degree than others – but nothing beat teamwork.

They left the car and walked over to what they assumed to be the main entrance. After ringing the bell, it took a minute or two before someone answered the door. To their surprise, it was a young man who didn't look the least bit hideous. He seemed surprised himself as if he hadn't expected anyone to show up. That expression didn't last long on his face and it brightened up.

"Hi. You're here for the car, aren't you?" He closed the door behind them. "Ah, of course you are. I doubt people even manage to get lost around here. Follow me."

Even the house's interior didn't look like somebody used it on a daily basis.

"Where are you guys from?"

"Ah, Chicago, partly," Nice replied. "My boyfriend and I are, our other friends are from New York."

Jacuzzi wasn't sure if it was a good decision to tell. But if he wanted to kill them, he probably wouldn't let them get away anyway, so there was no way he would chase them down in their respective homes.

"Do you live here? It's pretty, uh, old." When he heard Nice ask that, Jacuzzi couldn't refrain from face-palming.

"Haha, yeah, sorry about the house's condition. No, I don't. It used to belong to a colleague and now, after his death..." He stopped and nobody inquired further.

They reached the car anyway, so continuing with the small talk was out of question.

"Here it is," he said needlessly.

To everyone's surprise the car actually appeared to be in perfect shape. Nice didn't even hide her delight and circled the car happily. After doing so for a few rounds, Nice stepped in front of the guy and tried her hands on puppy dog eyes: "I was wondering if we could go for a test drive."

"Sure, no problem. But I hope you don't mind that I require some sort of pledge in exchange," the redhead said. "Please don't hold it against me, but I gotta be careful."

"Understandable. How about leaving some belongings with you, like our Ids," Jacuzzi rummaged through his pants in search of his Id.

"Uh, nope, everyone can fake an Id."

"Really," Jacuzzi, arching a brow, replied. Everyone, huh? He had his doubts about that. "So what do you suggest?"

"Yeah," Nice crossed her arms over her chest. "We sure aren't going to leave money with you, we also gotta be careful."

Chane thought to herself that Nice sure had guts to mock the redhead, even though she most definitely was the one with ulterior motive here.

But the man simply seemed amused. "Just let one of your friends stay behind."

Nice and Jacuzzi both looked at him as if he was out his mind.

"Wow, guys. Calm down," the redhead said with a grin. "I'm not some hillbilly axe murderer crazy about human flesh – pinky promise."

"You're right," Nice deadpanned, but the small lift of her lips told Jacuzzi that his charm wasn't lost on her. "A pinky promise can be trusted."

Redhead shrugged with his shoulders, while is grin was unwavering. "No pledge, no car."

Nice looked at Jacuzzi and Chane. There was no way she would give up now and if she could, she would offer herself, but – what a cruel universe – she was destined to place her ass down on that beautiful leather seat. Rachel was obviously out of question and while Ennis was just as capable of defending herself as Chane, it was her damn wedding they're headed to and it was an absolute no-go to leave the bride behind. Besides, if Nice wasn't mistaken, then redhead was interested in Chane. At least the quick glances and the glint in his eyes indicated it. Redhead surely would be pleased to have her here, although she doubted the feeling was mutual.

On the other hand, Jacuzzi sighed. He wasn't even eager to be part of the stunt to begin with, so he might as well stay behind. Hopefully he wouldn't regret that. But whether for good or bad, Nice suggested Chane before he could even open his mouth. Jacuzzi wasn't certain if his girlfriend wanted to torment him that badly or if she trusted Chane to be a better match should the redhead indeed turn out to be a maniac.

"Well, since I want to drive the car, I'll obviously have to decline. My boyfriend isn't the most interesting company, so maybe you'd like to get to know my friend Chane here better."

Nice ignored the little indignant noise Jacuzzi made at that comment and looked over to Chane (with puppy dog eyes yet again) to see if she would agree.

Chane actually looked right into the redhead's eyes with determination.

 _Okay, that's a bit weird_ , Nice mused. Did that mean that she was determined to flirt with him or kill him on the spot if need be? It was hard to tell. However, the redhead was either blissfully ignorant or didn't mind because his grin turned into a smile. That was a good sign, right? Right? Wrong. Did Chane recognize him from somewhere? Nice was about to call this entire thing off, when Chane grabbed her hand. Her hand was slightly squeezed and Nice nodded in understanding.

"So, yeah, my friend Chane here intends to keep an eye – urgh, I mean, keep you company." Nice laughed and hopefully Jacuzzi was the only one who noticed the nervous edge. "Alright?"

"I don't really care who of you guys stays here," the redhead stated airily, but the reddish glow on his cheeks said otherwise.

 _He has freckles_ , the couple unbeknownst to each other thought at the exact same time. _Shit, that's endearing_.

Redhead cleared his throat. "Anyway, here are the keys."

Nice caught them as if he had thrown eggs her way and Jacuzzi spotted the gleam in Nice's eyes. She was love-struck, great.

"Have fun with it."

And fun she would have. In fact, Nice practically pushed herself and Jacuzzi into the car.

"Behave yourselves. We'll be back in an hour," she said, waving and winking while driving off. Chane didn't react in any manner, but she didn't have to.

"Ah, so, you're Chane, am I saying that correctly?" While Nice did say it a few times, it still was challenging for a lot of people, even though they've heard it a number of times. "My name's Felix."

She simply nodded and he was somehow observant enough to gather that she was mute. Together they approached the garage driveway and watched Rachel and Ennis join the couple in the car. Soon enough they were gone and a minute later or so a black car followed them. Chane jogged a few steps forward to see as much as possible. It headed in the same direction as her friends. Normally that wouldn't be even noteworthy. But for one, Felix just told them that nobody ever even got lost in this area (well, his word wasn't entirely trustworthy) and, far more importantly, she didn't spot that car for the first time today. If she remembered correctly, she had seen it at the gas station in the morning where they had met this odd duo named Isaac and Miria who were joking around that they intended to steal from Earth herself or whatever.

 _Focus_ , Chane told herself. _It doesn't matter right now what they've said, even though they were funny_.

Anyway, that car gave off bad vibes – just like that Felix guy. She turned around and glared at him, interrogating him. Perhaps he was really some nut job who lured people here to terrorize first, kill later.

He held up his arms in defense and attempted to imitate the indignant sound Jacuzzi had made earlier. "I don't remember how I earned myself that mean glare."

Chane relaxed, for now. It wasn't the best idea to wake up a sleeping beast. She wasn't certain what exactly it was, but there was definitely something off about the man in front of her. His movements and presence gave him away, somehow. Although they clearly didn't look similar, Chane felt as if she had her reflection in front of her very eyes. Hopefully that version wasn't more skilled than she was.

"Anyway, will we stand here for the next hour and let the sun burn us to ashes, or would you perhaps prefer to drink soda in the house?"

Well, it didn't matter where she waited, so Chane accepted the invitation.


End file.
